Riccardo Freda: The Life and Works of a Born Filmmaker

by Roberto Curti

Overview

In an eclectic career spanning four decades, Italian director Riccardo Freda (1909-1999) produced films of remarkable technical skill and powerful visual style, including the swashbuckler Black Eagle (1946), an adaptation of Les Miserables (1947), the peplum Theodora, Slave Empress (1954) and a number of cult-favorite Gothic and horror films such as I Vampiri (1957), The Horrible Dr. Hichcock (1962) and The Ghost (1963). Freda was first championed in the 1960s by French critics who labeled him "the European Raoul Walsh," and enjoyed growing critical esteem over the years. This book covers his life and career for the first time in English, with detailed analyses of his films and exclusive interviews with his collaborators and family.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781476669700
Publisher:	McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers
Publication date:	04/24/2017
Pages:	376
Product dimensions:	6.90(w) x 10.00(h) x 0.90(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Roberto Curti is an Italian film historian and the author of books on Italian Gothic and giallo cinema, plus critical biographies of European filmmakers such as Riccardo Freda, Tonino Valerii, Elio Petri, Marco Ferreri, and Jesús Franco. He lives in Cortona, Italy.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Introduction
 1. A Portrait of the Filmmaker as a Young Man
 2. Learning the Craft
 3. Filming During Wartime
 4. Adventure, ­Italian-style
 5. Brazil … and Back
 6. Under the Sign of Melodrama
 7. Historia Magistra Vitae
 8. Diving into Genres
 9. Exploring the Myth
10. Intermezzo—A Director for Hire
11. The Gothic Years
12. In Exile
13. A Sort of Homecoming
14. The Twilight Years
Epilogue
Filmography
Chapter Notes
Essential Bibliography
Index

Editorial Reviews

a most welcome critical biography of the Egyptian-born filmmaker.... The joy of Curti’s text is that he has sought out and screened as much of Freda’s work as can presently be found...you must have this book”—Video Watchdog; “This is my type of biography. Just as much space and energy goes into recounting the details of Riccardo Freda’s life and development as an artist as goes into detailed analysis of each individual film and what makes it work....complete spectrum of all his cinematic endeavors are covered...highly recommended.—Midnight Marquee; “incredibly well researched...a book like this on Freda is a rare treat. Well written and just overflowing with stories of the Italian film industry after the war”—Little Shoppe of Horrors; “impressive and much-needed new critical biography”—Cineaste; “writer Roberto Curti of Cortona Italy has done a remarkable job tracking down an amazing amount of information on Freda’s life and career...this is a must have for lovers of film”—Scarlet the Film Magazine.

From the Publisher